Hiking Around

This is a picture to document our first family hike.  It was a short test run, but it went well.  Noah loves being let free to run the trails and hunt for "bears and hyenas".  Maleah, enjoyed the ride and scenery.  And, well, dave got a good workout carrying our big girl around!  What a fun time!

Buds

This is the perfect picture for me...I love to see my kiddos become best buds.  While swinging, Maleah reached out her and and caught Noah's.  And, they stayed that way for a couple of minutes.  This is a moment that I will always cherish.  I hope that my kids will forever reach their hands out to each other.

Ta-Da!

Well the kid's play areas is officially finished.  Whew! What a project.  We hope to have many years of fun filled laughter coming from this area.  I have to give props to those that did all the work...good job boys!

Grandpa and Grandma Parker come to visit

We had such a great time with Grandpa and Grandma on their visit.  Here are a few pictures of their trip.  Grandpa helped daddy build the kids a play area (and did a few things around the house too!) and we also got to enjoy bowling and the zoo.  It was a fun filled week.  One of the highlights was giving grandma a make over.  She cut her locks to a fun bob and looks fantastic!  Thank you for coming to visit!!

Hop on in!

Now that Noah has been driving for a year, we feel like we can trust him to take passengers in the car as long as he isn't talking on his cell.  Maleah was the first to hop in.  (Am I seeing a bit in the future?) These two had a such a great time cruising.  Noah has even developed the "mommy arm" when he hits the breaks.

Maleah is 10 months

Happy 10 months Maleah!

You had a very busy month of growing!  With so many new experiences it has been fun to watch you explore your surroundings.  You now crawl all over the place getting into whatever you can find.  Often, trying to eat whatever you can pick up off the floor.  You have enjoyed many moments playing legos on the floor with your brother and chasing the ball around.  Your grandpa and grandma Parker came to visit and you were able to experience bowling and the zoo.  I think you enjoyed it...

 This was the month for you to have your first set (of many) of pink nails.  You have no idea how excited I was to pull out the nail polish and have some girl time!  Someday I think you will grow to like it too!

 You are starting to babble and talk much more.  So far you can say-Mama,Dada, Baba (bottle) and thank you.  The rest I don't understand yet, though I am sure you are growing quite the vocabulary.  As for eating you still love most foods.  You are moving past baby food and into lots of finger foods.  Most likely you would be eating more, if I wasn't so paranoid about you choking.  (You have a tendency of stuffing everything in your mouth at once!) I so enjoy letting you sample off our plates and watching your eyes grow with excitement as your palate distinguishes the new tastes.  And to help you enjoy those foods you now have almost 6 teeth.  It really takes the baby look away!

Your smile still lights up the room and your deep laugh brings joy to our ears.  Your brother is still the only one that can get you laughing hysterically.  You seem to just admire him dearly.  Oh, and one more thing, you are finally sleeping through the night!  It is so nice that you can now go 12 hours without waking. Thank you.  I will need those hours of sleep when your dad travels back to Afghanistan again.
My darling daughter, you are such a blessing to us and we love you so.
Love,
Mom